Therapeutic Equipment Prescription in Physiotherapy
Prescribe the appropriate therapeutic aids, devices, and equipment as required by clients
Type
Domain
Competency Area
Patient Care
Levels
Prescribe appropriate assistive devices for routine cases independently
Determine clients and/or caregivers’ acceptance and compliance to the use of assistive equipment
Explain the selected assistive equipment in collaboration with clients and/or caregivers
Explain and train the clients and/or caregivers in the function and use, the safe handling and the care and maintenance of the selected assistive equipment
Evaluate client performance with the assistive devices before prescription
Keep appropriate records of the interventions, including agreed client goals, joint assessments and relevant outcomes
Consult other specialists, where appropriate, about specific issues related to clients’ needs
Assess the prospective users’ functioning and consider their personal variables such as age, goals, personality, co- morbid conditions and environment
Establish goals with the clients and take baseline measures of functioning using tools appropriate to the goals
Account for possible client changes which may affect the efficacy of the prescriptions
Identify possible factors which may result in non- use of assistive devices
Review goals with clients following prescription of assistive devices
Review prescription outcomes and provide guidance to junior therapists
Determine if the new assistive devices are suitable for clients in terms of performance and safety
Review the processes and effectiveness of the assistive devices prescribed by junior staff
Be aware of new or leading assistive devices
Evaluate effectiveness and efficacy of assistive devices based on evidence
Integrateuse of evidence-based, cost- effective innovative therapeutic equipment
Propose use of cost- effective and/or innovative assistive devices as part of therapy interventions
Trial cost-effective and/or innovative assistive devices before deployment into the clinical setting
Develop clinical standards regarding the prescription of assistive devices
Co-develop assistive devices with professionals from other disciplinary fields such as engineering and designers